Obituary: Darkest Day
The latest effort from famous Floridian band Obituary is a “summer blockbuster” album if there ever was one.
Dysrhythmia: Psychic Maps
Dysrhythmia is an instrumental, technical progressive rock/metal trio from Philadelphia that takes complex instrumental, heavy music to new and interesting heights.
Hellbound’s Origins #2: The Whys and Hows
I’ve had a few people ask me why this site is named Hellbound; what prompted the decision to give this site that moniker. So I thought I’d take a few minutes to explain the whys and hows of the name and the creation of this site. Hellbound isn’t a term I came up with. It’s not even a term that I have any sort of real attachment to. It’s more or less something that came to me by just trying to help out the local metal scene in my community.
Long Distance Calling: Avoid The Light
Germany’s Long Distance Calling have created quite the slow-burn of an album with Avoid The Light. The band’s music is often described as a mixture of “post-rock” and “post-metal,” and while listening it’s easy to conjure up comparisons with a group like Godspeed You Black Emperor! but also with the more drawn out and ambient side of a band like Agalloch.
April: Anthems of the Rejected
On their Myspace page, Finland’s April lists their influences with “All thoroughly emotional and sincere music inspires us!” In hindsight, I should have checked out their page before listening to Anthems of the Rejected (Spinefarm). Expecting a collection of black metal angst with angry, gritty lyrics, I was slightly disappointed to get a set of uber-contemporary, radio-friendly pop-metalcore.
Hellbound Radio: July 19th playlist
Here’s what we played last night on Hellbound Radio. Last night’s show was hosted by Albert Mansour and Sean Palmerston. Kevin was away at Dudefest.
Birushanah: Taking Japanese Culture To New Extremes
One band that has embraced traditional Japanese culture and used it to make something that is both new and exciting is the Osaka based quartet Birushanah. A band that has ties to the always-amazing Corrupted (bassist Sougyo spent some time in that band), Birushanah melds traditional Japanese percussion (done on metal instrumentation) with sludge metal that is similar to early Swans, Neurosis and (fellow Japanese) Zeni Geva
Conspiracy: Concordat
Talk about old school style. Amsterdam’s Conspiracy deliver just that on their latest release, Concordat.
Fatality: 3-song demo
Here is a three track demo release from Toronto’s FATALITY, a thrash metal band with plenty of aggressive, melodic technical hooks, blasting beats and soaring roaring vocals, complete with fast, intricate solos.
Attomica: Brazilian Thrash Metal Legends
Attomica is a remarkable thrash metal Brazilian band that has never been discovered up here in North America and sadly never had a real good chance for success on the international stage. I would like to shine the spotlight on this fine thrash metal band from Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil today. Here are my thoughts on their discography.